Standridge Hill Stone Circle
and Kunapipi at the Standridge Hill Stone Circle.]] The Standridge Hill Stone Circle, often referred to as the Standridge Stones or Standridge Circle, is a location in Magical Girl Policy. It is an ancient rock monument on the outskirts of Kessia City. It is a famous landmark and has a park surrounding it. To the world at large, the Circle is merely a mysterious construction built during an era where humans had only simple tools, but it secretly has several empathokinetic properties that gives it special significance to the Spirit Guard. Description The monument consists of a circular formation of tall stones of about six feet called the "eye", which is pointed toward a spherical boulder of similar height. This boulder is supported by three smaller stones and called the "iris". Many of the outer stones have fallen over throughout the years. When their empathokinetic functions are activated, the stones glow with a blue light. History During the Ardentia Civil War, people from the Ardent Empire fled to distant worlds using powerful empathokinetic foci called gateways. After one side claimed a gateway, they would warp away and destroy it so their enemies as well as the Other Power couldn't follow. The last remaining gateway was to Earth; the Empress projected visions to a Native American tribe called the Atsah, posing as their gods and teaching them empathokinetic techniques to construct the Earth half of the gateway. With the Empire's demise inevitable, the Empress planned to escape to Earth and conquer its primitive peoples for the birth of a new empire. To protect Earth for the rest of time, the Princess and her comrades became the last line of defense so they could send powerful foci to Earth to be used by the team's eventual reincarnations. With the foci stored in the gateways' iris for safekeeping, the Scholar severed the link between the gateways so no one could warp to Earth, though a gravely wounded Platicore managed to do so at the last moment, going into an ages-long hibernation to recover. Throughout the following millennia, the Circle attracted people with high empathokinetic potential, including those who would become the Spirit Guard. Angela Warrant touching the Stones signaled Kunapipi to arrive at Kessia City to act as the soon-to-be hero's mentor, but this also woke Platicore from his hibernation. Angela eventually used a focus retrieved from the iris to transform into Spirit Guard Valor and fight Platicore's monsters. Over the course of a year and a half, Mallory Drake, Vivian Joy, and Kara Balmer joined the Spirit Guard in a similar manner. They learn of the Circle's origins through visions of their past lives, and make frequent use of its remaining warp capabilities by pairing each stone to a similar one around the city. Platicore apparently wants something from the Circle but can't approach it, as his monsters consistently appear within an eleven-mile radius. In the present day, Robert Dreese meets with the Spirit Guard and Kunapipi here to learn why he glowed when attacked by Polygal. He learns about the monument's past and is instructed to reach into the iris, retrieving a focus that can only be obtained by the reincarnation of the Shrine Maiden and final member of the Spirit Guard. Robert refuses to transform into Spirit Guard Serenity, as it would force him to discard his identity and live the rest of his life as a woman. After eventually transforming, Rob is taught the activation codes for the Stones' warps, but is warned it'll take some memorization as one who wasn't a fan of the boy band Lyric Victory, since each stone had been keyed to the rhythm the group's songs. It is also decided that it'd be best to tell her Uncle Taylor about her transformation and Spirit Guard business while he's in Kessia City due to the Circle's perception filter. On the way to visiting Angela after the SFEERS social, Robynne senses something like a song within the iris, which is supposed to be empty now that the Spirit Guard is fully assembled. She also senses something watching her, but loses track of both when her concentration slips. She and Angela decide to investigate it later so as not to alert the watchful presence. Functions Teleportation The Circle's original purpose was to serve as a gateway between the Ardent Empire and Earth. With the Empire half of the gateway destroyed, this functionality remains as each outer stone allowing teleportation to and from a paired stone elsewhere. Spirit Guard Valor used her earth-based abilities and super strength to carve pieces from the Circle into small decorative rocks, which are placed throughout Kessia City, and had them activate when knocked on to the beat of a corresponding Lyric Victory song. With this, the Spirit Guard and their allies use the Circle as a travel hub, allowing quick transit to places such as their respective dorms and Kunapipi's office. The warp will fail to activate under certain circumstances, which apparently includes if an empathokinetic scan detects suspicion from people nearby. Storage The iris in the center acts as an interdimensional storage unit that is shared between both halves of the gateway. The Spirit Guard's foci are left here until they are needed, at which point a person with a matching Investiture may reach through the stone to retrieve their respective focus, as each one was prepared for the reincarnations of the Princess's team. As the leader and Princess's reincarnation, Angela can remotely access any of the stored foci at any time. Robynne senses something else within the iris, but it seems to be something the Spirit Guard cannot reach. Empathokinetic beacon The Circle's energy works to draw those with large amounts of Investiture to the area, which has led to Kessia City possessing a large concentration of such people. This eventually leads those who would become the Spirit Guard to the city, but also makes it prime hunting ground for Platicore's Investiture-draining monsters. Kunapipi theorizes that it also has something to do with the unusual hair colors that are commonplace in the city. Perception filter The Circle's energy seems to dull people's curiosity, theorized to have been originally designed to prevent the Earthlings from investigating the tools of their would-be Ardentia conquerors. In the present, it seems to reduce the amount of scientific intrigue that such a mysterious structure would normally bring. It also causes Kessia City residents to treat the Spirit Guard and monster attacks as something almost normal. This, along with discouraging investigation into the area, is the reason the whole situation is largely unknown outside of the city. Category:Locations